Sunday 7 June 2009

Driving home from the farm last night.

I found that the overdrive really is OK. I whines a bit at very high speeds, but the whine is much less than the row the engine makes if you let it out.

I don't know how fast I was going, as I've not yet sorted the speedo cable, but its strangely surreal - life seems to be moving fairly slowly, and then you let it out to overtake somthing, and you realise that the engine is nearly on the rpm stop in normal 4th...

Talking about overtaking, I wittnessed the nearest I've ever seen to a head on at speed last night. A driver who I can only conclude was drunk overtook round the wrong side of a bollard in the middle of the road, with another car comming the other way.
Everyone braked very hard, and he rocketed off into the distance. I nearly took out the same guy seconds earlier - I was pulling out round someone to overtake, with my indicator on, when he appeared on the wrong side of the road behind me at great speed. I fortunaly was making a final mirror check, when already halfway into the other lane, and saw his lights heading very rapidly for my rear crossmember, and swerved out of the way.
If I had realised at the time he was drunk, I'd have not moved back clear - I imagine he would have been spending the night in the local nick, once they had dug him out of the wreckage, and his insurers could have bought me a new chassis. As things are, if he carries on driving like he was last night, I'd only give it a week or two before he kills some unfortunate person who isn't in a Landrover when he rams them.

Drunk drivers should be done for attempted murder IMHO, even if they haven't hit anything.

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